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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: tear · bass · face · hand · straw · spell · nail · lie

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. face — to point toward
  4. lie — to recline
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. face — part of the head
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bass — low music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spell — a short time
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — to rip
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bass — the fish
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — help
  24. face — to confront

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