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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a match
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. lean — thin
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. charge — in control
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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