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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lie · scale · ball · wave · last · clip · present · stand

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. last — finally
  4. present — a gift
  5. last — final
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. last — to go on
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. scale — in music
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. present — there
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. present — the time now
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ball — a dance

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