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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — to come from
  7. board — a committee
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. spring — the season
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. mark — a trace
  19. board — to get on
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lie — to recline
  22. mark — a grade
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. saw — the tool

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