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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. field — farmland
  3. rock — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. land — ground
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. sharp — clever
  13. drill — the tool
  14. land — a country
  15. field — for sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lie — to recline
  19. drill — a practice
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fall — the season
  23. rock — a stone
  24. drill — army training

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