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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lie — to recline
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. file — a document
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. shower — rain
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — a trail
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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