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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. scale — size or range
  6. staff — a stick
  7. chest — of your body
  8. staff — employees
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lean — thin
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. snap — to click
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. scale — in music
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chest — a box
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. staff — employees
  24. calf — a young animal

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