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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stem — to come from
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. face — to confront
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — a leader
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. face — to point toward
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. plane — a tool
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wind — moving air

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