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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ball — a dance
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. spring — of water
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. last — finally
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spring — a coil
  15. craft — boats
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. tear — to rip
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spring — the season
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. scale — in music
  23. craft — a skill
  24. lie — to recline

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