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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. craft — a skill
  4. land — to come down
  5. staff — a stick
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — a box
  9. land — ground
  10. tear — from crying
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — of water
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. spring — a coil
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lean — to bend
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — a country
  20. tear — to rip
  21. craft — boats
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lean — thin
  24. staff — employees

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