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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lean — thin
  4. chest — a box
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lean — to bend
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fall — the season
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. shower — rain

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