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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · bat · lie · chest · deal · fork

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. race — humankind
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. deal — to handle
  15. chest — a box
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. race — a contest
  18. lie — to recline

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