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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. lean — to bend
  8. object — an aim
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. chest — a box
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. field — for sport
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. net — in sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. field — farmland
  19. net — for catching
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. hand — help
  23. net — after costs
  24. hand — in cards

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