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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lean — thin
  7. court — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lean — to bend
  11. present — the time now
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — the season
  15. court — of a king
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. band — a music group
  21. present — there
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a ring

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