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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 120 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. squash — to crush
  3. land — to come down
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. current — happening now
  6. land — ground
  7. lie — to recline
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chest — of your body
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. chest — a box
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chest — of your body
  17. current — electric
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. current — of water
  24. squash — the sport

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