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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — farmland
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. clip — for paper
  13. net — for catching
  14. field — for sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bass — the fish
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pop — to visit
  20. saw — the tool
  21. net — in sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. clip — to cut

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