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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. field — a subject
  6. lie — to recline
  7. mate — to breed
  8. deal — to handle
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ground — a position
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ground — the earth
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — farmland
  17. shower — rain
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mate — a friend
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. calf — a young animal

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