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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fall — the season
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — in music
  12. bore — to drill
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. lean — thin
  17. fork — in a road
  18. scale — size or range

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