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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wound — an injury
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lie — to recline
  5. wound — an injury
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. club — for dancing
  18. march — music
  19. land — to come down
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. land — a country

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