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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: wave · chest · chair · saw · lie · content · fork · last

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chair — a leader
  7. content — the amount
  8. lie — to recline
  9. last — final
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. last — finally
  15. content — happy
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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