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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · drill · leaves · stick · lean · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — a subject
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. drill — army training
  6. chest — a box
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. field — for sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lean — thin
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. field — farmland
  13. chest — of your body
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. leaves — to go away

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