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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.

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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 · mate · key · lie · fall · bowl · shower · lean

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. key — in music
  7. lie — to recline
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fall — to drop
  12. key — the most important part
  13. mate — a partner
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lean — to bend
  16. shower — rain
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — the season
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — to wash
  21. key — for a lock
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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