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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: lie · ball · field · rush · deal · bass · date · face

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. field — for sport
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. face — part of the head
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bass — the fish
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. deal — to handle
  13. face — to confront
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a dance
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — a subject
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — to point toward
  23. field — farmland
  24. lie — to recline

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