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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. chest — a box
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pit — a hole
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bound — obliged
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lean — to bend
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bound — certain
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pit — in a race
  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