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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spell — a short time
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bat — the animal
  5. last — final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — a stick
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. spell — magic
  13. last — to go on
  14. staff — employees
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cold — not warm
  18. last — finally
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spell — letters
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — an illness

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