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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. object — an aim
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — to go on
  5. bound — obliged
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — a subject
  8. saw — the tool
  9. present — there
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. object — to protest
  13. last — finally
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bound — certain
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. field — farmland
  18. object — a thing
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ball — a dance
  23. present — a gift
  24. last — final

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