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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.

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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: deal · field · tear · staff · date · perch · lie · game

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. staff — a stick
  5. field — farmland
  6. staff — employees
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. deal — to handle
  12. game — wild animals
  13. date — the fruit
  14. game — a match
  15. staff — employees
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lie — to recline
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — for sport

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