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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fall — the season
  3. spell — letters
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spell — a short time
  7. lie — to recline
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — magic
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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