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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. snap — to click
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. lie — to recline
  10. field — for sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. clip — to cut
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. field — farmland
  20. chair — a leader
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. field — a subject

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