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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: temple · shower · field · chest · leaves · face · stick · patient

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. shower — to wash
  3. face — to confront
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. face — to point toward
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. face — part of the head
  12. field — farmland
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — a subject
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chest — of your body
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. chest — a box
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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