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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: content · tube · lie · lean · bat · chair · roll · fork

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — the amount
  5. roll — a list
  6. lean — to bend
  7. content — happy
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lie — to recline
  12. tube — a container
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tube — the underground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lean — thin

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