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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 124 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pitch — completely
  5. field — for sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — a subject
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. hand — help
  10. scale — size or range
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. field — farmland
  13. fall — to drop
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. scale — in music
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. band — a ring
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a music group

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