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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a dance
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wake — a trail
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lean — thin
  24. ball — a round shape

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