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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: fan · swing · chest · march · mate · lean · stick · rash

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. swing — music
  4. mate — a partner
  5. march — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — the month
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mate — to breed
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — hasty
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — thin
  24. chest — a box

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