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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. hand — help
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. face — to confront
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lie — to recline
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. track — to keep track
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cell — in biology
  11. face — to point toward
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a path
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. scale — in music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cell — a phone
  22. track — a song
  23. lie — an untruth
  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