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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — to shout
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — for sport
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. file — a tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of law
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. court — of a king
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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