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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: toast · face · march · field · kid · saw · object · roll

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. face — to confront
  3. field — for sport
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. toast — bread
  8. object — an aim
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. object — to protest
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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