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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cold — an illness
  11. suit — in cards
  12. kick — in football
  13. pop — soda
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pop — to visit
  16. suit — to fit
  17. lie — to recline
  18. suit — clothes
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pop — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. kick — with a leg

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