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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. drill — a practice
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. spell — magic
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. spell — a short time
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spell — letters
  12. lie — to recline
  13. last — finally
  14. pass — a permit
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. drill — the tool
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — army training
  19. last — to go on
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. last — final
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. lie — an untruth

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