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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. field — a subject
  3. pound — a weight
  4. dip — to sink
  5. lean — thin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — of water
  8. lean — to bend
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lie — to recline
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. chest — a box
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. field — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. field — farmland
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — ground

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