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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. present — a gift
  3. field — farmland
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pop — music
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. field — a subject
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — a match
  15. field — for sport
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. present — there
  18. pop — to visit
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. present — the time now
  23. pop — soda
  24. game — a kind of play

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