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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. face — to confront
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. can — a tin
  17. march — music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — completely
  24. band — a ring

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