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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 116 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. file — a line of people
  3. last — finally
  4. saw — the tool
  5. last — final
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. file — a tool
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. lie — to recline
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — happy
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pound — a weight
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — a phone
  18. content — the amount
  19. file — a document
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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