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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. season — in sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — for sport
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lie — to recline
  18. court — of law
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. court — of a king
  21. capital — money
  22. season — of the year
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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