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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cell — in biology
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rash — a series
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rash — hasty
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. staff — employees
  17. row — a line
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. staff — employees
  24. lie — to recline

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