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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. lie — to recline
  3. tube — the underground
  4. perch — the fish
  5. file — a tool
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — a box
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. tube — a container
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a line of people
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. file — a document
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — of the year
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. last — final
  22. season — in sport
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chest — of your body

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