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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: date · firm · rash · ball · face · trunk · field · march

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. firm — decided
  3. field — a subject
  4. firm — steady
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. firm — a company
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. rash — a series
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — farmland
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. march — the month
  19. field — for sport
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rash — hasty
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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