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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. band — a music group
  8. ground — a position
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tear — from crying
  11. face — to confront
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. face — to point toward
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cell — in biology
  19. face — part of the head
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ground — the earth
  22. band — a ring
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ruler — for measuring

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