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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · field · face · toast · fine · tear

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — for sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fine — all right
  6. tear — to rip
  7. toast — bread
  8. field — farmland
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — part of the head
  13. field — a subject
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — to confront

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