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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fall — the season
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. firm — decided
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cell — a phone
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. field — for sport
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chair — a leader
  18. firm — a company
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. firm — steady
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. mine — an explosive

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