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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chest — a box
  4. tube — a container
  5. ball — a dance
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — an illness
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a list
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tube — the underground
  16. roll — a cake
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chest — of your body
  19. charge — electricity
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. ball — a round shape

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