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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. capital — money
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. field — a subject
  8. rush — hurry
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — farmland
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. capital — a city
  17. kick — in football
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. field — for sport
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bowl — a football 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