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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rest — a break
  4. field — a subject
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fall — to drop
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitch — completely
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lie — to recline
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. fall — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. calf — a young animal

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