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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. charge — a price
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. field — farmland
  6. board — to get on
  7. lie — to recline
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — the amount
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. face — part of the head
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. content — happy
  22. board — a committee
  23. mine — for digging
  24. saw — the tool

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