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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stock — shares
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. net — after costs
  17. chest — a box
  18. net — for catching
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lean — thin
  23. net — in sport
  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