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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rock — a stone
  4. band — a ring
  5. rock — music
  6. net — for catching
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a music group
  12. net — in sport
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. net — after costs
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lie — to recline
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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