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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · chest · wave · content · lie · hand · swing · mine

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lie — to recline
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — for digging
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. lie — an untruth

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