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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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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: wave · hide · face · field · fork · cell · pop · tear

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. field — for sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — soda
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pop — music
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. face — to confront
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. face — part of the head
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cell — in a prison

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