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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. hand — help
  3. track — a path
  4. rest — a break
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cell — in biology
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pop — to visit
  14. track — to keep track
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. track — a song
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — soda
  24. march — the month

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