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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cap — a lid
  4. snap — to click
  5. lean — to bend
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bass — low music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the fish
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cap — of ice

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