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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. field — farmland
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cell — in biology
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. scale — in music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. field — a subject
  24. leaves — of a tree

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