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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chest — a box
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bound — certain
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bound — obliged
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. capital — money

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