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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spell — letters
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. net — after costs
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. field — a subject
  22. rash — a series
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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