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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fall — to drop
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. shower — to wash
  7. clip — a video
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mark — a trace
  10. fall — to drop
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fall — the season
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. snap — to click
  19. shower — rain
  20. clip — to cut
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mark — a grade
  24. lie — to recline

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