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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 120 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: season · hand · chest · last · ball · lie · march · lean

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. season — of the year
  5. march — the month
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a great time
  8. last — finally
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. last — to go on
  12. lie — to recline
  13. chest — a box
  14. lean — thin
  15. ball — a dance
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. march — music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. last — final
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lean — to bend

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