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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. game — a match
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. face — to confront
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to point toward
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — a short time
  11. last — final
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. last — to go on
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. field — farmland
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. spell — letters
  23. game — wild animals
  24. last — finally

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