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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. file — a tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. dip — to sink
  7. lie — to recline
  8. field — a subject
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — music
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. object — an aim
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. field — for sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. object — to protest
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. object — a thing
  21. file — a line of people
  22. swing — in golf
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — moving air

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