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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cold — an illness
  3. squash — the sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bound — tied together
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spell — a short time
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bound — certain
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bound — obliged
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. rule — government

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