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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: present · hand · fork · lie · mine · ruler · bay · chest

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. present — a gift
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. hand — help
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fork — in a road
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chest — a box
  17. present — there
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. present — the time now
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lie — to recline

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