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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: lie · mouse · chest · chair · land · straw · rock · foot

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chair — a leader
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. land — ground
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. land — a country
  18. foot — a measure
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. land — to come down
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lie — to recline
  24. foot — the bottom

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