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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: calf · lean · bat · straw · lie · chest · race · roll

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. roll — a cake
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. roll — a list
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chest — a box
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — a contest
  20. lean — thin
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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