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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. chest — of your body
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. plane — a tool
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lie — to recline
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. lash — to lash out

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