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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. march — music
  6. row — a line
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — not warm
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. band — a music group

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