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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cue — for pool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. field — for sport
  5. present — the time now
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. ground — a position
  10. cue — a hint
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cap — a hat
  15. present — there
  16. cue — a signal
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — farmland
  21. rash — a series
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cap — of ice
  24. field — a subject

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