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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — a video
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. drill — army training
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lean — to bend
  20. band — a music group
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a ring
  24. lie — an untruth

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