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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. march — music
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. chair — a leader

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