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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lie — to recline
  8. track — a song
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — completely
  14. track — to keep track
  15. game — wild animals
  16. track — a path
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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