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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ground — crushed
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pop — to visit
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cap — of ice
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. field — farmland
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ground — a position
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — child
  17. field — a subject
  18. pop — music
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pop — soda
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cap — a lid

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