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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. present — the time now
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lie — to recline
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. capital — a city
  12. squash — to crush
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. present — a gift
  17. capital — money
  18. field — farmland
  19. present — there
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wound — an injury
  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