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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. row — a line
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. field — farmland
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cap — a lid
  9. lie — to recline
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cap — of ice
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bound — tied together
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bound — obliged
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bound — certain
  19. wake — a trail
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cap — a hat
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — an untruth
  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