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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. spring — the season
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. squash — to crush
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. spring — of water
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. squash — the sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. field — farmland

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