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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: season · field · game · present · face · lie · rock · roll

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — a match
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — for sport
  7. rock — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. face — to point toward
  13. lie — to recline
  14. rock — a stone
  15. face — to confront
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. present — a gift
  20. field — farmland
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. season — in sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. game — wild animals

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