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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: rush · saw · present · cell · lean · bat · lie · cold

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. present — there
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. present — a gift
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cell — a phone
  17. present — the time now
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rush — a thrill

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