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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. land — to come down
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stem — to come from
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. dip — to sink
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pop — soda
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — a country
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. lie — to recline

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