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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cap — a hat
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stem — to come from
  9. key — the most important part
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. row — to paddle
  14. key — in music
  15. cap — of ice
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. key — for a lock
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cap — a lid
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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