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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — to breed
  4. file — a tool
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. face — to point toward
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. face — to confront
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — music
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. mate — a friend
  17. lie — to recline
  18. face — part of the head
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mate — a partner
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a line of people
  23. dip — to sink
  24. file — a document

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