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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · lie · mate · fall · saw · kid · pit · spell

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a face
  3. spell — letters
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a friend
  8. fall — to drop
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lie — to recline
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. kid — to tease
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — child
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mate — a partner
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mug — a cup
  24. fall — the season

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