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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: cap · ground · jam · firm · patient · face · field · sharp

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cap — of ice
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cap — a lid
  6. firm — a company
  7. field — farmland
  8. firm — decided
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. face — part of the head
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. firm — steady
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cap — a hat

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