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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — rain
  6. bass — low music
  7. face — to confront
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — a phone
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — in biology
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mine — for digging
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bass — the fish

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