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

Word bank: lie · tear · bass · fan · snap · rule · mate · cold

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — not warm
  4. snap — to click
  5. bass — the fish
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rule — a law
  13. bass — low music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rule — government
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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