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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lie — to recline
  3. field — for sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. firm — decided
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — child
  8. field — farmland
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. firm — steady
  22. field — a subject
  23. hand — help
  24. firm — a company

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