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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to click
  5. row — a line
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. face — to point toward
  9. root — of a plant
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fall — the season
  12. face — to confront
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. root — of a word
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. root — the cause
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fall — to drop
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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