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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cap — of ice
  3. face — part of the head
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — a hat
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. net — for catching
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. net — after costs
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — for sport
  13. net — in sport
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. face — to point toward
  16. land — a country
  17. toast — bread
  18. cell — in biology
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. face — to confront
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cap — a lid

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