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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bank — for money
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bank — for money
  8. lean — to bend
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bank — of a river
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. net — after costs
  16. chest — a box
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — for catching
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lean — thin
  22. spell — letters
  23. net — in sport
  24. fall — the season

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