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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. root — of a word
  3. ground — a position
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. race — a contest
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fall — to drop
  10. race — humankind
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — the cause
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — of the year
  18. fall — to drop
  19. season — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — the arms race
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tear — to rip

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