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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. capital — a city
  18. lie — to recline
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. toast — bread
  22. swing — music
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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