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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. lean — to bend
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pit — in a race
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cap — a lid
  23. lean — thin
  24. lie — to recline

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