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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. swing — in golf
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — to play on
  5. march — the month
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tube — the underground
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fall — to drop
  14. swing — music
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lean — thin
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. march — music

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