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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. net — for catching
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. field — for sport
  5. club — a group
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. field — a subject
  8. rash — a series
  9. field — farmland
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. net — after costs
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — for golf
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pitch — completely
  24. club — for dancing

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