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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. field — for sport
  3. board — to get on
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. face — to point toward
  7. board — a committee
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. face — part of the head
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bat — in an idiom

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