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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bear — the animal
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bear — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. squash — the sport
  10. ball — a great time
  11. field — farmland
  12. lie — to recline
  13. field — for sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. row — a line
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kick — in football
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. scale — in music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bear — to put up with

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