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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. last — to go on
  6. lie — to recline
  7. net — in sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. last — final
  13. stand — to bear
  14. field — for sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. court — for sport
  20. spring — the season
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. last — finally
  24. lie — an untruth

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