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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lie — to recline
  4. tube — the underground
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. track — a song
  12. fine — high quality
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. track — to keep track
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. tube — a container
  18. tear — to rip
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cell — in biology
  21. track — a path
  22. fine — all right
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cell — a phone

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