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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spell — letters
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bank — of a river
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — the fish
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bank — for money
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spell — magic
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lie — to recline
  16. spell — a short time
  17. game — a match
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bank — for money

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