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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. game — a match
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. game — wild animals
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bore — to drill
  13. hand — help
  14. bore — to tire
  15. dip — to sink
  16. staff — employees
  17. lie — to recline
  18. hand — in cards
  19. field — a subject
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. staff — employees

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