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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — for catching
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. net — after costs
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. spring — the season
  11. lean — to bend
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. net — in sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. chest — a box
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. tube — a container
  20. spring — of water
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lean — thin

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