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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: straw · mine · suit · face · field · mate · arm · bear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. suit — clothes
  9. field — a subject
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mate — a partner
  13. face — to confront
  14. mine — for digging
  15. suit — to fit
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. suit — in cards
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bear — to put up with

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