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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bat — the animal
  17. board — to get on
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — farmland
  22. board — a committee
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — the Cold War

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