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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: tear · chest · ruler · snap · sharp · racket · lie · rest

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tear — to rip
  3. snap — to click
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chest — a box
  18. rest — a break
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — what's left

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