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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mate — to breed
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — a subject
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. face — to point toward
  9. plane — a tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. face — to confront
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — rain
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. plane — in geometry

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