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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. field — for sport
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spring — the season
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pitch — completely
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. deal — to handle
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. face — to confront
  21. fork — in a road
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. field — a subject
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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