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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. lie — to recline
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — for sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. kid — child
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stem — to come from
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — a subject
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chest — a box
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. field — farmland

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