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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. face — part of the head
  6. march — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. land — a country
  9. net — after costs
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mark — a grade
  12. march — the month
  13. mark — a trace
  14. face — to confront
  15. march — the month
  16. net — for catching
  17. club — a group
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. club — for golf
  22. net — in sport
  23. land — ground
  24. field — a subject

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