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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. can — to be able to
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. can — a tin
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — thin
  17. can — a tin
  18. band — a ring
  19. field — farmland
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. band — a music group
  24. snap — to click

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