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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. field — a subject
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. field — farmland
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — a hole
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lie — to recline
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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