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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lean — to bend
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fall — the season
  11. kid — child
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. rest — a break
  18. lean — thin
  19. fall — to drop
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chest — a box
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. lean — to rest against

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