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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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 — an untruth
  2. field — farmland
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cap — a hat
  6. capital — a city
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. field — a subject
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. present — there
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — of ice
  20. present — a gift
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. present — the time now
  23. scale — in music
  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