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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: stand · chest · bark · lie · hide · chair · nail · key

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. key — in music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. key — the most important part
  15. chest — of your body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. chest — a box

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