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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. charge — electricity
  3. pop — soda
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a line
  7. field — farmland
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pop — music
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. face — part of the head
  15. field — for sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. face — to confront
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — in control
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. row — to paddle
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bat — the animal

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