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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. branch — a division
  9. file — a document
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cell — in biology
  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