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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chip — to eat
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chest — a box
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fine — all right
  16. mark — a grade
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chip — for betting
  21. lie — to recline
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. fine — high quality

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