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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: current · face · spell · kick · field · prune · cap · object

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kick — in football
  5. prune — to trim
  6. current — happening now
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. object — an aim
  10. face — to point toward
  11. object — a thing
  12. field — a subject
  13. face — part of the head
  14. current — electric
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. current — of water
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spell — a short time
  20. field — for sport
  21. object — to protest
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. field — farmland

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