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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. drill — army training
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pass — a permit
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. field — for sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cap — a hat
  23. lie — to recline
  24. squash — the sport

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