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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bass — the fish
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. squash — the sport
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. content — happy
  14. chest — a box
  15. lean — to bend
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — the amount
  24. chest — of your 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