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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mine — for digging
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. saw — the tool
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cold — an illness
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — the month
  17. band — a music group
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pitch — completely
  20. march — music
  21. track — a song
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — the Cold War

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