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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: cold · rest · face · charge · race · field · fall · fine

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rest — what's left
  5. field — for sport
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — a subject
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rest — a break
  12. fine — all right
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fall — the season
  17. fine — high quality
  18. face — to confront
  19. field — farmland
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fall — to drop
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — in control
  24. fall — to drop

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