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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. lie — to recline
  7. snap — to click
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fall — the season
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chest — a box
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hide — to keep secret

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