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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: chest · hand · dip · court · lie · track · mark · drill

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. court — for sport
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — a grade
  8. drill — army training
  9. track — a song
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mark — a trace
  16. drill — the tool
  17. dip — to sink
  18. track — to keep track
  19. chest — a box
  20. track — a path
  21. court — of law
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. court — of a king

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