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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 124 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bank — for money
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kick — in football
  9. pop — music
  10. lie — to recline
  11. land — to come down
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. bank — for money
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pop — to visit
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pop — soda

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