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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. lie — to recline
  3. scale — in music
  4. band — a ring
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. track — a path
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cell — in biology
  9. track — a song
  10. race — a contest
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. race — humankind
  18. foot — a measure
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. scale — size or range
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. track — to keep track

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