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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chest — of your body
  7. last — final
  8. chest — a box
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lean — to bend
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. last — finally
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — an injury
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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