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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. craft — boats
  3. face — to point toward
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. field — farmland
  13. key — for a lock
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cell — in biology
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. key — the most important part
  20. face — part of the head
  21. field — a subject
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. key — in music
  24. craft — a handicraft

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