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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — a song
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — child
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. track — a path
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tear — from crying
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — to keep track
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. content — the amount
  21. ground — a position
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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