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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: stick · bowl · bay · can · wound · chest · field · face

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chest — a box
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. can — a tin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to confront
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. field — farmland
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. field — a subject
  20. can — a tin
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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