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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. fall — to drop
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. squash — the sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. present — a gift
  13. file — a document
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. fall — the season
  18. rash — hasty
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fall — to drop
  21. snap — to click
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. rash — a series
  24. squash — to crush

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