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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 120 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: game · lie · straw · nail · ground · field · wave · fan

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. lie — to recline
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. game — a match
  10. ground — a position
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — for sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. ground — the earth
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — a subject
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. game — wild animals

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