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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: cold · chair · lie · face · root · arm · scale · stick

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. scale — in music
  8. root — of a plant
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — not warm
  16. face — to confront
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. root — of a word
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — part of the head
  22. root — the cause
  23. lie — to recline
  24. chair — a leader

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