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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. field — farmland
  9. wound — an injury
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. face — to point toward
  17. field — a subject
  18. face — part of the head
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pitch — completely
  24. straw — dry grass

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