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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: face · leaves · rush · bowl · key · cold · wake · field

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. key — in music
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — for sport
  15. face — to confront
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. key — the most important part
  20. face — part of the head
  21. field — farmland
  22. face — to point toward
  23. field — a subject
  24. leaves — of a tree

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