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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: deal · bat · stand · trunk · march · face · chest · field

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. field — a subject
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. face — to point toward
  10. field — farmland
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. field — for sport
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — the animal
  22. march — music
  23. face — to confront
  24. march — the month

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