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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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 — to recline
  2. squash — the sport
  3. field — for sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. squash — to crush
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — to drill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. field — farmland
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lie — an untruth
  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