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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. lie — to recline
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wake — a trail
  10. field — a subject
  11. scale — size or range
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — in cards
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — in music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rock — music
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rock — a stone
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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