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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lean — thin
  4. spell — letters
  5. mate — a partner
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lie — to recline
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mate — to breed
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — to go on
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. saw — the tool
  22. last — finally
  23. spell — magic
  24. last — final

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