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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lean — thin
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. row — a line
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kick — in football
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spring — of water
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lash — to lash out

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