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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. shower — to wash
  11. plane — a tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. track — to keep track
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — rain
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. sharp — clever
  18. face — to confront
  19. field — farmland
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. sharp — exactly

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