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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spell — magic
  5. lie — to recline
  6. spell — letters
  7. squash — the sport
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — a container
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — of a word
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. root — of a plant
  22. chest — a box
  23. root — the cause
  24. squash — the vegetable

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