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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: tear · lie · chest · pit · club · straw · mate · dip

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for golf
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mate — to breed
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tear — to rip
  9. dip — to sink
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mate — a partner
  12. club — a group
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. chest — a box
  24. club — for dancing

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