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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: board · face · lie · cap · cell · bulb · chest · mine

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. face — to confront
  4. board — to get on
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cell — a phone
  8. board — a committee
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cell — in biology
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bulb — for light
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chest — a box
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chest — of your body
  24. face — part of the head

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