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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mug — a face
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fall — to drop
  10. shower — to wash
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. face — to point toward
  16. mine — for digging
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mug — to rob
  20. face — to confront
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mug — a cup
  23. saw — the tool
  24. face — part of the head

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