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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. scale — in music
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fall — the season
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lie — to recline
  13. saw — the tool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. game — a match
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. scale — for weighing

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