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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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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. dip — to sink
  3. spell — letters
  4. lie — to recline
  5. spell — a short time
  6. field — farmland
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. face — to point toward
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bass — low music
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. spell — magic

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