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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. current — electric
  8. chest — of your body
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. branch — a division
  12. chest — a box
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lean — thin
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. toast — bread
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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