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

Word bank: chest · bear · lean · present · bass · tear · kick · hide

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. present — the time now
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — in football
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lean — thin
  18. present — there
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. chest — of your body

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