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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. field — a subject
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mine — for digging
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kid — child
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rock — music
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. field — farmland
  24. face — part 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