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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. key — for a lock
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. key — in music
  9. game — a match
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ball — a dance
  15. key — the most important part
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — wild animals
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chest — a box
  24. tear — to rip

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