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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — in sport
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — a match
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. net — for catching
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tube — the underground
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mine — for digging
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. hand — in cards

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