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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pit — in a race
  6. last — to go on
  7. lean — to bend
  8. chair — a leader
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — in cards
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pit — a hole
  14. last — finally
  15. spring — the season
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spring — of water
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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