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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — farmland
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fall — to drop
  5. can — a tin
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bank — of a river
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bank — for money
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bank — for money
  13. can — a tin
  14. field — a subject
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. face — to confront
  22. can — to be able to
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. fall — the season

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