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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. mate — a friend
  6. track — a path
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. content — happy
  16. track — a song
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. content — the amount
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — videos and posts

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