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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. wake — a trail
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. roll — a list
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. game — a match
  24. nail — on a finger

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