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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — part of the head
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — a publisher
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. face — to point toward
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rest — a break
  10. wax — to grow
  11. field — a subject
  12. face — to confront
  13. bear — the animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. press — to push
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. press — newspapers
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bear — the animal

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