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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. scale — size or range
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fall — the season
  6. can — a tin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. file — a tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — to drop
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lie — to recline
  16. can — a tin
  17. press — to push
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. press — a publisher
  20. file — a document
  21. can — to be able to
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kid — child

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