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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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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: chest · kid · nail · lie · stick · hand · land · cell

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. lie — to recline
  13. land — a country
  14. chest — of your body
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. chest — a box
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — help
  22. land — to come down
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — child

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