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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bound — tied together
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mug — a face
  15. field — for sport
  16. lie — to recline
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — a subject
  19. bound — certain
  20. mug — to rob
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. prune — the fruit

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