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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. lie — to recline
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cold — an illness
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bear — the animal
  12. roll — a list
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. roll — a cake
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. wound — an injury
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bear — the animal
  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