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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. swing — music
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — farmland
  6. roll — a cake
  7. tube — the underground
  8. clip — to cut
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. field — a subject
  14. clip — a video
  15. field — for sport
  16. roll — a list
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. swing — to play on
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — for paper

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