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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — a box
  7. field — farmland
  8. face — to confront
  9. field — for sport
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cap — a hat
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cap — a lid
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fan — a supporter
  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