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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lie — to recline
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — for sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spring — the season
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. field — a subject
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mark — a grade
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. net — after costs
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pitch — completely
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mark — a trace
  23. field — farmland
  24. wake — a trail

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