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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a dance
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. key — the most important part
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. key — for a lock
  17. object — a thing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. object — to protest
  20. ball — a great time
  21. lie — to recline
  22. key — in music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. object — an aim

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