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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — to sink
  10. content — the amount
  11. race — a contest
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a line
  14. cell — in biology
  15. row — to paddle
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. race — humankind
  20. content — happy
  21. game — a match
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cell — a phone
  24. dip — a sauce

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