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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. face — to confront
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. face — to point toward
  8. court — of law
  9. spell — a short time
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. current — happening now
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stand — to bear
  15. face — part of the head
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — of a king
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. stand — for spectators

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