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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: cabinet · lie · tear · squash · net · hide · chair · snap

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lie — to recline
  4. net — after costs
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — to rip
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. snap — to click
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — for catching
  15. squash — to crush
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. net — in sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. tear — from crying
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cabinet — ministers

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