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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — an illness
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tube — a container
  11. swing — music
  12. lie — to recline
  13. hand — in cards
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hand — help
  16. saw — the tool
  17. swing — to play on
  18. tube — the underground
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cold — not warm

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