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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. charge — in control
  5. land — ground
  6. charge — a price
  7. mine — for digging
  8. capital — a city
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. capital — money
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. land — a country
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. charge — electricity
  19. chest — a box
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wound — an injury

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