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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. lie — to recline
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. hand — help
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. deal — to handle
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stem — to come from
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. hand — in cards
  20. row — a line
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to click
  24. fall — the season

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