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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 116 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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. lie — to recline
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bear — the animal
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. game — a match
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. current — electric
  13. march — the month
  14. current — happening now
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. march — music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. current — of water
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — the animal
  24. march — the month

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