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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bound — tied together
  3. press — to push
  4. field — for sport
  5. lie — to recline
  6. field — farmland
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. tube — a container
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — a subject
  15. press — newspapers
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — money
  20. tube — the underground
  21. race — humankind
  22. kid — child
  23. race — a contest
  24. tube — in a tire

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