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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 that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bass — the fish
  3. saw — the tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. field — for sport
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. lie — to recline
  10. field — farmland
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ball — a dance
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bass — low music
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — size or range
  19. ball — a great time
  20. mug — to rob
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. scale — in music
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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