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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lean — thin
  4. cue — for pool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lean — to bend
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cue — a signal
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cue — a hint
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. file — a tool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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