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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 116 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rock — a stone
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — help
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. can — a tin
  14. rock — music
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. can — a tin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rock — to move gently

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