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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 · fall · lie · march · date · pop · face · snap

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mug — a face
  5. face — to confront
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mug — a cup
  12. fall — the season
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — music
  15. date — the fruit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pop — soda
  18. mug — to rob
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. face — to point toward
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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