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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. season — of the year
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. field — for sport
  8. march — music
  9. season — in sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. march — the month
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lie — to recline
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chest — a box
  21. march — the month
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to click
  24. chest — of your body

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