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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.

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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. rash — hasty
  3. last — finally
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wake — a trail
  6. row — a line
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — to be able to
  10. last — to go on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. last — final
  15. can — a tin
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lie — to recline
  23. row — to paddle
  24. can — a tin

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