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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — rain
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. field — for sport
  5. lie — to recline
  6. field — farmland
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. capital — money
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — to point toward
  14. capital — a city
  15. shower — to wash
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. toast — bread
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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