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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. field — a subject
  4. club — a group
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. club — for dancing
  11. root — the cause
  12. face — part of the head
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. field — farmland
  15. root — of a word
  16. field — for sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — in biology
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cell — a phone
  23. root — of a plant
  24. club — for golf

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