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

Word bank: chest · tear · bark · stem · pound · staff · saw · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. lean — to bend
  6. staff — employees
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. staff — employees
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chest — a box
  15. staff — a stick
  16. stem — to come from
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pound — a weight

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