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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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. rash — hasty
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — a contest
  11. rash — a series
  12. mug — a face
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mug — a cup
  21. race — humankind
  22. lean — to bend
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. lean — thin

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