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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lean — thin
  6. drill — a practice
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. swing — music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lean — to bend
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — army training
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lean — to rest against

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