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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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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: lie · swing · hide · chest · tear · bark · content · arm

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. swing — music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — to play on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — to recline
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chest — a box
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bark — to shout
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. hide — to keep secret

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