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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: chip · track · rest · ruler · spring · face · field · content

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — the season
  7. content — happy
  8. face — to confront
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. field — farmland
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chip — for betting
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. content — the amount
  15. field — a subject
  16. chip — to eat
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rest — what's left
  19. track — a path
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. track — a song
  22. spring — of water
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — for sport

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