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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chip — for betting
  4. season — in sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. field — farmland
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chip — to eat
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. season — of the year
  14. file — a tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — to recline
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hand — help
  23. file — a document
  24. field — a subject

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