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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. game — wild animals
  15. dip — to sink
  16. game — a match
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — rain

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