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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: squash · chest · lie · cap · mine · firm · foot · row

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. mine — for digging
  3. firm — steady
  4. chest — of your body
  5. firm — a company
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chest — a box
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. foot — a measure
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. lie — to recline

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