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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. field — a subject
  3. firm — a company
  4. court — for sport
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chip — to eat
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chip — for betting
  14. firm — decided
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. face — to point toward
  18. court — of law
  19. field — for sport
  20. face — to confront
  21. firm — steady
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — of a king
  24. straw — dry grass

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