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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. rash — a series
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. field — a subject
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. saw — the tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. ground — a position
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. ground — crushed
  17. face — to point toward
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ground — the earth
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a quarrel

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