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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — finally
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. last — final
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. last — to go on
  23. field — for sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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