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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: lean · hand · lie · chest · band · game · saw · arm

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a music group
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. game — a match
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. lie — to recline
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a ring
  19. chest — a box
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. lean — to bend
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — a kind of play

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