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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. suit — clothes
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. suit — to fit
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. plane — a tool
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — a box
  17. suit — in cards
  18. last — finally
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. squash — to crush
  24. plane — an aircraft

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