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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: scale · tube · field · dip · face · patient · march · cabinet

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. march — music
  4. field — for sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — a container
  8. field — a subject
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. face — to point toward
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — farmland
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. dip — to sink
  24. tube — the underground

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