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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. craft — boats
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — a container
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — final
  14. can — a tin
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. craft — a skill
  19. last — finally
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — the underground
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — a handicraft

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