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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · bark · bat · bank · chest · hide · press · lie

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bank — of a river
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. press — to push
  16. bark — to shout
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chest — a box
  19. rash — a series
  20. lie — to recline
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rash — on the skin

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