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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cap — of ice
  5. field — a subject
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. scale — in music
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rest — what's left
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. rest — a break
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lie — to recline

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