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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — farmland
  4. face — to confront
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cap — a hat
  7. squash — to crush
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mate — a partner
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mate — to breed
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. face — to point toward
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — the sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cap — a lid
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. face — part of the head
  23. row — a line
  24. vault — a safe

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