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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cold — not warm
  3. field — farmland
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. suit — to fit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. suit — in cards
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. suit — clothes
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cell — a phone
  13. field — for sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — a subject
  22. stand — to bear
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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