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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chest — of your body
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. prune — to trim
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lie — to recline
  13. tear — to rip
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chest — a box
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. scale — size or range
  19. snap — to click
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. scale — in music

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