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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cap — of ice
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pop — music
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. game — a match
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cap — a lid
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — for sport
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pop — soda
  19. saw — the tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ground — a position
  22. saw — the tool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. lie — to recline

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