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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cap — a hat
  5. kick — in football
  6. face — to confront
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. face — to point toward
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — a lid
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lie — to recline
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. land — ground
  21. row — a line
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — the animal

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