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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: bay · chest · march · present · jam · leaves · mine · lean

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. present — there
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. march — music
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. present — the time now
  18. chest — a box
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. march — the month
  21. present — a gift
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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