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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. last — finally
  3. land — ground
  4. lie — to recline
  5. swing — to play on
  6. roll — a cake
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — final
  9. swing — in golf
  10. game — a match
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — wild animals
  14. land — a country
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. fall — the season
  19. roll — a list
  20. land — to come down
  21. field — farmland
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — to go on
  24. game — a kind of play

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