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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bat — the animal
  3. lie — to recline
  4. drill — army training
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. file — a tool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. track — a path
  9. club — for dancing
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. track — a song
  12. file — a line of people
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. club — for golf
  16. drill — a practice
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. track — to keep track
  20. file — a document
  21. hand — in cards
  22. club — a group
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — help

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