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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: lie · cell · mine · lean · tear · dip · march · rest

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rest — a break
  7. lie — to recline
  8. march — music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tear — to rip
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lean — thin
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. tear — from crying
  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