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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. lean — to bend
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bore — to drill
  14. can — to be able to
  15. field — farmland
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chest — a box
  18. can — a tin
  19. lean — thin
  20. file — a document
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bore — to tire
  24. calf — a young animal

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