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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — to go on
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. toast — bread
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. last — finally
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bear — the animal
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mine — belonging to me

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