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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: coach · lean · hand · object · swing · chest · last · lie

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — thin
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. swing — music
  5. object — a thing
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. hand — in cards
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — of your body
  12. swing — to play on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. object — an aim
  18. swing — in golf
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. last — to go on
  22. object — to protest
  23. chest — a box
  24. coach — a trainer

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