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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: object · mate · leaves · ruler · lie · content · mine · chest

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. object — to protest
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. content — happy
  10. object — an aim
  11. lie — to recline
  12. content — the amount
  13. chest — a box
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. object — a thing
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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