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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bass — low music
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. fine — all right
  10. face — to confront
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. fine — high quality
  17. field — farmland
  18. bank — of a river
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fine — a penalty

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