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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lean — to bend
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. lean — thin
  13. fall — to drop
  14. swing — music
  15. fall — the season
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. swing — in golf

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