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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a city
  3. shower — rain
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mark — a grade
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chest — a box
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rush — hurry
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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