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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. present — a gift
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. field — for sport
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — happy
  8. field — a subject
  9. content — the amount
  10. present — there
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rock — music
  18. field — farmland
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rock — a stone
  21. deal — to handle
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. present — the time now
  24. content — videos and posts

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