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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mate — a friend
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — a hole
  9. face — to confront
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mate — a partner
  16. field — for sport
  17. hand — help
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. field — farmland
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. hand — part of the body

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