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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kick — in football
  3. ball — a dance
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a great time
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — for sport
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. lie — to recline
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — a subject
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — a cup
  22. dip — to sink
  23. shower — rain
  24. mug — a face

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