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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. band — a music group
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kick — in football
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chest — a box
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. file — a line of people
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. file — a document
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. file — a tool
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — to keep track

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