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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. scale — in music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chest — a box
  9. hand — in cards
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cell — in biology
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lean — to bend
  19. hand — help
  20. cell — a phone
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. lean — thin
  23. dip — to sink
  24. safe — a strongbox

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