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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fall — the season
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. lie — to recline
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rock — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rock — a stone
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. file — a document
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fall — to drop

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