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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a ring
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. capital — a city
  6. chest — a box
  7. net — after costs
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kick — in football
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. capital — money
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a music group
  20. net — in sport
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. capital — a big letter

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