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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — finally
  11. cold — an illness
  12. last — final
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — a division
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. temple — a place of worship

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