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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. net — in sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — a subject
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stand — to bear
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spring — the season
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. lie — to recline
  18. net — after costs
  19. field — for sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bear — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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