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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — electricity
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cell — in biology
  7. craft — a skill
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. ground — crushed
  13. content — happy
  14. cell — a phone
  15. craft — boats
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ground — a position
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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