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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. face — to confront
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. net — after costs
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mark — a trace
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — in sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mark — a grade
  23. net — for catching
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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