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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in biology
  3. branch — a division
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chest — a box
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stock — shares
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lean — thin
  20. stock — goods
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. fall — the season
  23. scale — in music
  24. lean — to bend

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