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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 116 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: race · field · fall · wound · lean · rush · mine · face

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. field — a subject
  4. face — to point toward
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. fall — to drop
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. field — farmland
  13. race — humankind
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. race — a contest
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lean — to rest against

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