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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: rest · bay · mine · stand · lean · chest · ground · nail

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rest — a break
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. stand — to bear
  12. chest — a box
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. nail — for a hammer

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