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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: lie · bat · tear · stick · saw · chest · pitch · scale

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. scale — size or range
  4. chest — a box
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. scale — in music
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitch — completely
  18. lie — to recline
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. tear — from crying
  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