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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rash — a series
  4. lie — to recline
  5. present — there
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. key — in music
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. saw — the tool
  12. present — the time now
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. field — for sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. key — the most important part
  18. rash — hasty
  19. squash — the sport
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. present — a gift
  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