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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lean — to bend
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pit — in a race
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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