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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 120 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: field · chest · cabinet · last · face · race · content · mate

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mate — to breed
  3. last — to go on
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — finally
  8. field — a subject
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. face — to point toward
  15. race — a contest
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. mate — a friend
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. last — final

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