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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hand — in cards
  4. field — for sport
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. hand — help
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. face — to confront
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pass — to succeed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com