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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pop — to visit
  3. saw — the tool
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — a subject
  8. lie — to recline
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pop — music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. field — for sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cap — of ice

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