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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: field · march · nail · face · sharp · cell · can · mine

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. can — a tin
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mine — for digging
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. sharp — clever
  10. field — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. can — a tin
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. can — to be able to
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — a phone
  19. face — to point toward
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. face — to confront
  24. nail — for a hammer

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