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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — ground
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. face — to confront
  7. field — farmland
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. field — for sport
  10. land — to come down
  11. field — a subject
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. face — to point toward
  14. land — a country
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. date — the fruit
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. vault — a safe

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