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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spell — letters
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pit — in a race
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pit — a hole
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spell — magic
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bat — for baseball

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