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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. lie — to recline
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hand — help
  12. fall — the season
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. hand — in cards
  24. scale — size or range

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