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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · lie · game · stock · spell · bark · chest · rest

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spell — letters
  6. rest — a break
  7. stock — shares
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spell — magic
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. game — a match
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. stock — goods

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