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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — final
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. last — to go on
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — a series
  12. field — a subject
  13. last — finally
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. lie — to recline
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — for sport
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pass — a permit

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