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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. field — for sport
  3. mug — to rob
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. face — to confront
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wake — a trail
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. face — to point toward
  23. key — for a lock
  24. face — part of the head

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