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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lie — to recline
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. field — for sport
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. chest — a box
  14. swing — to play on
  15. ball — a dance
  16. field — a subject
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — farmland
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ball — a great time
  23. saw — the tool
  24. swing — music

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