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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fine — all right
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. march — music
  6. chest — a box
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. scale — in music
  9. lean — thin
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fine — high quality
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. vault — a safe
  16. perch — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to click
  22. chest — of your body
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. scale — size or range

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