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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. season — in sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. current — happening now
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spring — the season
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. season — of the year
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. current — electric
  19. lie — to recline
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. current — of water
  24. season — to add flavour

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