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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pop — soda
  9. spring — the season
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — to visit
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kid — child
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mug — to rob
  18. pop — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. lie — to recline
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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