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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 120 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. current — of water
  3. pit — in a race
  4. shower — rain
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — a hole
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — a line
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. march — the month
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. march — music
  17. squash — to crush
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cold — not warm

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