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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. content — happy
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — a short time
  7. content — the amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spell — letters
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lie — to recline
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — a video
  20. saw — the tool
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spell — magic
  24. rest — a break

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