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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. spring — the season
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fall — the season
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tube — a container
  10. lean — thin
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chest — a box
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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