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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. lie — to recline
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mark — a grade
  14. ground — a position
  15. field — farmland
  16. mark — a trace
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. chair — a leader
  22. field — for sport
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ball — a dance

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