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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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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: clip · swing · field · squash · fine · lie · kid · deal

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. swing — music
  6. lie — to recline
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fine — all right
  12. swing — to play on
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — child
  17. field — farmland
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fine — high quality
  23. swing — in golf
  24. deal — an agreement

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