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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: season · staff · chest · bat · charge · lie · pound · last

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. last — final
  7. staff — employees
  8. charge — a price
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. last — finally
  13. season — in sport
  14. staff — employees
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. last — to go on
  18. chest — a box
  19. lie — to recline
  20. charge — in control
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. charge — electricity
  23. pound — a weight
  24. lie — an untruth

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