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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. lean — to bend
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — thin
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chair — a leader
  15. net — in sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lie — to recline
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. chest — a box

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