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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. field — for sport
  3. face — to confront
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. current — electric
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. field — a subject
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. field — farmland
  17. current — of water
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. current — happening now
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a music group

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