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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. face — part of the head
  3. hand — in cards
  4. field — farmland
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. game — a match
  10. field — a subject
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. game — wild animals
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. face — to confront
  15. hand — help
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. field — for sport
  20. perch — the fish
  21. face — to point toward
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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