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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. face — to confront
  13. branch — a division
  14. row — to paddle
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. face — to point toward
  18. lie — to recline
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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