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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: ball · craft · kick · wake · fall · mine · chest · lean

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — of your body
  3. craft — boats
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. craft — a skill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chest — a box
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — in football
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. ball — a great time
  21. fall — the season
  22. lean — thin
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wake — a trail

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