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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: track · bat · date · press · field · face · deal · jam

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. face — part of the head
  4. press — a publisher
  5. face — to confront
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. press — to push
  9. field — a subject
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. track — a path
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. field — for sport
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. track — to keep track
  17. face — to point toward
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — a song

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