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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. net — after costs
  4. last — finally
  5. field — a subject
  6. track — to keep track
  7. last — final
  8. track — a path
  9. rest — what's left
  10. track — a song
  11. field — for sport
  12. rest — what's left
  13. net — in sport
  14. hand — help
  15. squash — to crush
  16. last — to go on
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. lie — to recline
  20. net — for catching
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rest — a break
  23. field — farmland
  24. lie — an untruth

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