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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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Word bank
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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: chest · board · tear · swing · stock · court · face · lie

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. court — of law
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. stock — goods
  5. court — of a king
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — to rip
  9. court — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lie — to recline
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chest — a box
  14. face — to confront
  15. stock — shares
  16. board — to get on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. face — part of the head
  22. board — a committee
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lie — an untruth

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