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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. lean — to bend
  9. present — there
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. chest — a box
  13. lean — thin
  14. game — a match
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. present — a gift
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. present — the time now
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wake — a trail

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