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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — of water
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. land — a country
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spring — the season
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. spring — a coil
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wound — an injury
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — ground
  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