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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — a series
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — finally
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. lie — to recline
  11. last — to go on
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. tear — to rip
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. game — a match
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. game — wild animals
  22. last — final
  23. present — the time now
  24. mark — a grade

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