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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rash — hasty
  6. scale — in music
  7. row — to paddle
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. scale — size or range
  18. chest — a box
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. lie — to recline
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rash — a series
  23. row — a line
  24. chest — of your body

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