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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. tear — to rip
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. land — a country
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. kick — in football
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. land — ground
  18. mine — for digging
  19. net — after costs
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — for catching

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