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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. capital — a city
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — money
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lie — to recline
  8. perch — the fish
  9. net — in sport
  10. kick — in football
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — after costs
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. net — for catching
  23. plane — a tool
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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