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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lie — to recline
  7. fine — high quality
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — to tease
  13. can — to be able to
  14. kid — child
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. squash — to crush
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hide — to keep secret

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