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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: charge · stick · tear · rest · face · cabinet · toast · field

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. charge — a price
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. face — part of the head
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — a break
  12. charge — in control
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — what's left
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — a subject
  20. toast — bread
  21. face — to confront
  22. charge — electricity
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cabinet — ministers

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