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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: bay · face · arm · field · date · cap · bass · chip

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bass — low music
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. field — farmland
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — for sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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