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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. last — final
  3. rest — a break
  4. lie — to recline
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. last — finally
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. clip — a video
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. rest — what's left
  21. last — to go on
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. patient — a sick person

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