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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — to confront
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. field — farmland
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chest — a box
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pit — a hole
  24. wound — an injury

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