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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: bear · degree · chest · hand · snap · arm · charge · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. hand — in cards
  3. charge — in control
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chest — a box
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. degree — temperature
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — a price
  18. hand — help
  19. lean — thin
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. degree — an amount
  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