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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. root — of a plant
  8. stock — goods
  9. mine — for digging
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lie — to recline
  12. field — for sport
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. band — a ring
  16. root — the cause
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. stock — shares
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — farmland
  23. dip — to sink
  24. root — of a word

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