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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. face — part of the head
  5. scale — in music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rule — a law
  8. march — music
  9. rule — government
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — a subject
  12. toast — bread
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. press — a publisher
  16. sharp — clever
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. scale — size or range
  19. march — the month
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. march — the month

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