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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. club — for golf
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. ruler — a monarch

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