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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. current — happening now
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a ring
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. bat — the animal
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kick — in football
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. lie — to recline
  18. current — of water
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. current — electric
  21. cold — an illness
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. kick — a thrill

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