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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. spring — of water
  4. lie — to recline
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — in music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. track — a song
  13. scale — size or range
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. track — a path
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — to keep track

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