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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. toast — bread
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — to cut
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. file — a line of people
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. face — part of the head
  14. file — a document
  15. clip — a video
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. clip — for paper
  19. file — a tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. wound — an injury
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lean — thin

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