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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: spring · toast · board · chair · lie · bat · arm · snap

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. board — to get on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. spring — of water
  11. chair — a leader
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. board — a committee
  16. snap — to click
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spring — the season
  19. toast — bread
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lie — to recline

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