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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 116 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bark — to shout
  3. field — for sport
  4. current — electric
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — farmland
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lie — to recline
  16. fall — the season
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. squash — to crush
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — a subject
  22. current — of water
  23. current — happening now
  24. ruler — for measuring

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