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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. ball — a great time
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. board — to get on
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. plane — a tool
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ball — a dance
  13. race — humankind
  14. content — happy
  15. branch — a division
  16. board — a committee
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. lie — to recline
  20. content — the amount
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. race — a contest

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