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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. hand — help
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fall — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. chest — a box
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bat — in an idiom

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