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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 116 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rash — a series
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — farmland
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. fall — the season
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — a subject

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