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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.

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: staff · clip · land · pit · lie · wound · field · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. mate — a friend
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lie — to recline
  4. field — farmland
  5. land — ground
  6. staff — employees
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — employees
  12. field — a subject
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. land — to come down
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. land — a country
  19. clip — to cut
  20. staff — a stick
  21. clip — a video
  22. pit — in a race
  23. lie — an untruth
  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