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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · press · wave · hide · current · field · bark · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — part of the head
  3. field — for sport
  4. current — happening now
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. press — to push
  7. field — farmland
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. current — of water
  10. face — to confront
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — a subject
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. current — electric
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. row — to paddle

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