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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. field — for sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. field — a subject
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — farmland
  10. object — a thing
  11. craft — a skill
  12. sharp — clever
  13. face — to confront
  14. object — an aim
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. object — to protest
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. craft — boats
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. content — happy

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