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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cell — a phone
  6. club — for dancing
  7. shower — to wash
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. face — to confront
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. shower — rain
  16. club — for golf
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. club — a group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lie — to recline
  23. kick — in football
  24. chest — a box

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