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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. lie — to recline
  3. ground — the earth
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — finally
  7. field — a subject
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. present — there
  11. ground — crushed
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. ground — a position
  14. present — a gift
  15. last — final
  16. file — a document
  17. field — for sport
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. saw — the tool
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. field — farmland
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — the time now
  24. saw — the tool

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