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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 124 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stock — goods
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. cold — not warm
  12. field — farmland
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. drill — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — shares
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. kid — to tease
  24. squash — the sport

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