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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 · chair · tear · face · pitcher · board · calf · cell

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. face — to confront
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. board — a committee
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lie — to recline
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. face — part of the head
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lie — an untruth

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