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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 120 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. content — the amount
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. march — the month
  12. key — in music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — a practice
  17. key — the most important part
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. key — for a lock
  20. drill — the tool
  21. shower — rain
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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