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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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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: hide · field · cap · pop · wound · lie · nail · mouse

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. field — a subject
  3. pop — soda
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — farmland
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. field — for sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pop — to visit
  20. lie — to recline
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. pop — music

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