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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fork — in a road
  3. field — for sport
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mug — to rob
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. lie — to recline
  14. field — farmland
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a music group
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — a trail
  21. band — a ring
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. band — a rubber band

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