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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.

Make a worksheet

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: lie · rash · wound · tube · bat · safe · lean · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. rash — hasty
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rash — a series
  13. lie — to recline
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tube — a container
  17. lean — thin
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. safe — a strongbox

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