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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 116 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. key — for a lock
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spring — the season
  5. key — in music
  6. court — of law
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. lie — to recline
  10. spring — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cap — a hat
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — a video
  20. wound — an injury
  21. key — the most important part
  22. court — for sport
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spring — a coil

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