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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: lie · lean · cabinet · branch · pitcher · bat · straw · chest

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chest — a box
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chest — of your body
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. straw — a straw man

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