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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: lean · chest · cell · prune · chip · chair · dip · bark

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — a box
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chip — to eat
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chip — for betting
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bark — to shout
  18. lean — to bend
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. lean — thin
  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