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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. drill — a practice
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. lean — to bend
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chest — a box
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. drill — army training
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — the tool

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