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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. field — a subject
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. field — farmland
  5. face — to point toward
  6. field — for sport
  7. face — to confront
  8. drill — a practice
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. ground — a position
  11. date — the fruit
  12. craft — boats
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rush — hurry
  15. craft — a skill
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ground — the earth
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. ground — crushed
  23. drill — army training
  24. face — part of the head

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