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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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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 — to recline
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stand — to bear
  18. hand — help
  19. craft — boats
  20. bass — low music
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  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