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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.

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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: hand · bat · rock · bore · field · pop · rest · lie

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — help
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pop — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pop — soda
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. field — farmland
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bore — to drill
  18. field — a subject
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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