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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 120 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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — to grow
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. band — a music group
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a ring
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — to keep track
  15. dip — to sink
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. track — a song
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. track — a path
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. prune — the fruit

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