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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. club — for golf
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lie — to recline
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. kid — child
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. last — final
  13. foot — a measure
  14. fall — to drop
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. fall — the season
  17. club — a group
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — a position
  22. club — for dancing
  23. last — finally
  24. ground — the earth

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