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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. field — farmland
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ball — a great time
  7. field — a subject
  8. present — there
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. present — a gift
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. ball — a dance
  15. present — the time now
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. field — for sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cold — not warm

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