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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. charge — a price
  4. track — to keep track
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. track — a song
  7. face — to point toward
  8. charge — in control
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. track — a path
  12. present — there
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cell — a phone
  15. toast — bread
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. face — to confront
  22. field — for sport
  23. charge — electricity
  24. toast — the most admired

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