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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. band — a music group
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a ring
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lie — to recline
  13. game — a match
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — a path
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. track — to keep track
  21. clip — for paper
  22. roll — a list
  23. track — a song
  24. clip — a video

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