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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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Word bank
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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: tear · fork · cabinet · field · face · present

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. 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. fork — to eat with
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — to point toward
  6. tear — to rip
  7. face — part of the head
  8. field — for sport
  9. present — a gift
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fork — in a road
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — there
  18. 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