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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chest — a box
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — in a race
  10. lean — thin
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pit — a hole
  22. date — the fruit
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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