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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 124 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mine — for digging
  3. field — a subject
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — a break
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. present — a gift
  11. field — farmland
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. field — for sport
  19. saw — the tool
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. face — to confront

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