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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. season — of the year
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. field — a subject
  5. mine — for digging
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. field — for sport
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. season — in sport
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bore — to drill
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. field — farmland
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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