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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — part of the head
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. lean — to bend
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mate — a partner
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — for sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bass — low music
  18. field — a subject
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mate — a friend
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lean — thin
  24. bass — the instrument

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