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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. scale — in music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — size or range
  17. game — a match
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chair — a leader
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pitcher — a jug

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