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

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. roll — a cake
  5. board — to get on
  6. row — to paddle
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. chest — a box
  10. roll — a list
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. row — a line
  13. court — of a king
  14. clip — a video
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. court — for sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. board — a committee
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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