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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. fall — to drop
  4. content — happy
  5. present — the time now
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — a gift
  8. field — a subject
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. present — there
  13. content — the amount
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of law
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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