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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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Word bank
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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: lie · lean · chair · chest · hand · saw · track · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — to bend
  4. track — a song
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chest — a box
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — to keep track
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lie — to recline
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lean — thin
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — help

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