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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. lean — to bend
  3. file — a line of people
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. row — a line
  8. band — a music group
  9. stock — goods
  10. lean — thin
  11. file — a document
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. file — a tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. band — a ring
  24. stock — a soup base

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