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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: staff · kid · lie · wave · chest · toast · craft · degree

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. staff — employees
  7. craft — a skill
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. toast — bread
  13. chest — a box
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. lie — to recline
  17. degree — temperature
  18. staff — a stick
  19. degree — from a university
  20. staff — employees
  21. kid — child
  22. craft — boats
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chest — of your body

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