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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — a stick
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — a box
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rest — a break
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. staff — employees
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — a leader
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. staff — employees
  24. branch — a division

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