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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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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: lean · wind · chest · stick · swing · net · land · pop

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — soda
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pop — to visit
  9. swing — music
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. net — for catching
  12. land — ground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — in sport
  15. chest — a box
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pop — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. net — after costs

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