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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mug — a cup
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — to wash
  7. present — there
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mug — a face
  11. shower — rain
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. track — a song
  15. present — a gift
  16. cold — not warm
  17. present — the time now
  18. mug — to rob
  19. tube — the underground
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — to recline
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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