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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chip — to eat
  3. face — to confront
  4. chip — for betting
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. field — for sport
  8. face — part of the head
  9. field — a subject
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — final
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. branch — a division
  15. stand — to bear
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. face — to point toward
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. last — to go on
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. last — finally
  24. bulb — for light

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