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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. face — to confront
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. scale — in music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — a subject
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ball — a dance
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — to point toward

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