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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
468
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: nail · face · leaves · field · pitcher · date · mug · row

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mug — a face
  6. field — a subject
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — farmland
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. face — to point toward
  13. field — for sport
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mug — to rob
  24. nail — for a hammer

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