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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bank — for money
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spring — the season
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. snap — to click
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — of water
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bank — of a river
  24. trunk — of a tree

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