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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. file — a document
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rash — a series
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. root — the cause
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. lie — to recline
  14. content — happy
  15. rash — hasty
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. file — a tool
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hide — to keep secret

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