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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. scale — in music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — part of the head
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. staff — a stick
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tear — to rip
  18. staff — employees
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. lie — to recline
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lie — an untruth

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