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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — a box
  5. field — for sport
  6. march — music
  7. bank — of a river
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. face — part of the head
  11. march — the month
  12. bank — for money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. field — farmland
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — the animal
  24. face — to confront

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