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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. chest — a box
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — low music
  7. net — in sport
  8. lean — thin
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. roll — a list
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. net — for catching
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pit — in a race
  19. roll — a cake
  20. net — after costs
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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