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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. band — a music group
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. dip — to sink
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. track — a song
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stem — to come from
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. saw — the tool

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