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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mug — to rob
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — final
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mug — a face
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. row — a line
  21. spring — the season
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. last — finally
  24. mug — a cup

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