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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — the season
  10. chip — to eat
  11. march — the month
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. march — music
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spell — magic
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spell — letters
  22. chip — for betting
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cold — not warm

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