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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 120 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cap — a hat
  10. stand — to bear
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lean — to bend
  14. chair — a leader
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cap — a lid
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — a box
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. trunk — of a tree

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