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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · lie · key · fall · field · ground · club · last

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — finally
  5. club — a group
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fall — the season
  10. last — to go on
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — a position
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — farmland
  15. ground — crushed
  16. key — for a lock
  17. last — final
  18. key — the most important part
  19. field — for sport
  20. club — for golf
  21. lie — to recline
  22. present — the time now
  23. key — in music
  24. present — there

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