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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. lie — to recline
  7. content — the amount
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. swing — in golf
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spell — magic
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. rush — hurry
  16. content — happy
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. content — videos and posts

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