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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. vault — a safe
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. field — for sport
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mate — to breed
  12. press — to push
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. face — part of the head
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bass — low music
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wound — an injury

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