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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. field — for sport
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. march — the month
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. season — in sport
  16. face — to point toward
  17. date — the fruit
  18. face — part of the head
  19. march — music
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — the month
  22. season — of the year
  23. face — to confront
  24. jam — in traffic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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