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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. face — part of the head
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. firm — steady
  9. kid — child
  10. field — a subject
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. field — for sport
  13. face — to confront
  14. field — farmland
  15. band — a ring
  16. firm — a company
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hand — help
  19. firm — decided
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kid — to tease

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