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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. row — to paddle
  7. lean — thin
  8. field — for sport
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — a division
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. field — farmland
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — to protest
  20. field — a subject
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a car
  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