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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. rush — hurry
  7. march — music
  8. spring — of water
  9. lean — thin
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rest — what's left
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — low music
  24. spring — the season

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