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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 the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. land — to come down
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. last — final
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rock — music
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. land — a country
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rock — a stone
  16. last — finally
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — ground
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lie — an untruth

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