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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: race · roll · field · bat · mate · stick · face · present

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. roll — a cake
  3. present — a gift
  4. face — part of the head
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. field — a subject
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mate — a partner
  10. field — farmland
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. face — to confront
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. roll — a list
  15. race — a contest
  16. mate — a friend
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. field — for sport
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mate — to breed

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