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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. present — there
  3. roll — a cake
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. face — part of the head
  6. present — a gift
  7. spell — letters
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pound — a weight
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. roll — a list
  19. field — farmland
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. spell — magic
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. present — the time now

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