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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. field — a subject
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. face — to confront
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — of your body
  11. face — to point toward
  12. lie — to recline
  13. field — farmland
  14. mug — a cup
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — army training
  17. hand — in cards
  18. season — in sport
  19. mug — a face
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. season — of the year
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. field — for sport
  24. drill — a practice

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