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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
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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: spell · squash · plane · band · bay · face · field · dip

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. face — part of the head
  3. spell — letters
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. field — for sport
  9. plane — a tool
  10. band — a music group
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spell — a short time
  14. field — farmland
  15. dip — to sink
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. face — to confront
  22. spell — magic
  23. band — a ring
  24. face — to point toward

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