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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bound — certain
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. season — of the year
  5. ground — a position
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fork — in a road
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bound — obliged
  16. kick — in football
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. lie — to recline
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bound — tied together

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