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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. drill — the tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. drill — army training
  8. face — to confront
  9. staff — a stick
  10. face — to point toward
  11. staff — employees
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cold — an illness
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — a subject
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — farmland
  19. face — part of the head
  20. drill — a practice
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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