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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — the amount
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. object — to protest
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — an aim
  8. content — happy
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lean — thin
  21. chest — a box
  22. object — a thing
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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