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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — not warm
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — to wash
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — an aim
  13. bank — for money
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kid — child
  17. bank — for money
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — rain
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bank — of a river

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