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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — of the year
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. face — to confront
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — a box
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — moving air
  18. track — to keep track
  19. face — part of the head
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — money
  22. track — a song
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lie — to recline

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