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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bank — of a river
  5. lie — to recline
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bank — for money
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bank — for money
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. scale — in music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pitcher — a jug

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