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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. sharp — clever
  3. field — a subject
  4. spring — the season
  5. cue — a signal
  6. face — to point toward
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. face — to confront
  9. spring — of water
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — a group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — for dancing
  15. field — farmland
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. field — for sport
  18. club — for golf
  19. cue — for pool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cue — a hint
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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