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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. charge — electricity
  3. spell — letters
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. face — to point toward
  6. spell — magic
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. face — part of the head
  9. charge — in control
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. charge — a price
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. face — to confront
  23. spell — a short time
  24. field — for sport

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