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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. roll — a cake
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — of law
  6. scale — in music
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rule — government
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bore — to tire
  14. rule — a law
  15. field — farmland
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. field — a subject
  19. roll — a list
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bore — to drill

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