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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spell — letters
  4. face — to point toward
  5. field — for sport
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. face — to confront
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. field — a subject
  22. can — a tin
  23. spring — a coil
  24. field — farmland

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