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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. face — to confront
  4. cue — for pool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stock — shares
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stock — goods
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — a subject
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cue — a hint
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — farmland
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. field — for sport

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