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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — an illness
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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