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

Word bank: kid · mug · fall · bark · scale · face · lie · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fall — to drop
  3. scale — in music
  4. face — to confront
  5. lie — to recline
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fall — to drop
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fall — the season
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mug — a face
  13. kid — child
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. face — to point toward
  16. mug — a cup
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. scale — size or range
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mug — to rob
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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