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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lean · file · rest · chest · fan · branch · scale · object

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — an aim
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lean — to bend
  7. object — a thing
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — thin
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — a box
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. object — to protest
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rest — a break
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. scale — in music
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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