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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bore — to tire
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. face — to confront
  6. cap — a lid
  7. swing — music
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. field — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bore — to drill
  13. field — a subject
  14. mark — a trace
  15. face — part of the head
  16. field — farmland
  17. land — ground
  18. cap — a hat
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. swing — in golf
  23. land — to come down
  24. cap — of ice

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