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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. field — for sport
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spell — letters
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bass — the fish
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. field — a subject
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spell — magic
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kick — in football
  24. bass — low music

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