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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — a hole
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — music
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. shower — to wash
  11. field — for sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. swing — in golf
  14. shower — rain
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — farmland
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. charge — a price
  19. saw — the tool
  20. charge — in control
  21. pit — in a race
  22. saw — the tool
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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