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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: bowl · net · cap · chest · field · lie · pit · spell

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — a box
  4. spell — a short time
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. field — a subject
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pit — a hole
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a hat
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — farmland
  21. spell — letters
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. net — in sport
  24. lie — an untruth

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