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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 120 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — money
  7. chest — a box
  8. board — to get on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cap — a hat
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — rain
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cap — a lid
  24. board — a committee

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