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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · tube · coach · saw · present · rest · field · row

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. face — part of the head
  3. present — there
  4. tube — the underground
  5. present — the time now
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. row — to paddle
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rest — what's left
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. saw — the tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. rest — a break
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. row — a line
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. coach — a trainer

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