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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hand — help
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. lean — thin
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chest — of your body

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