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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mark — a trace
  6. net — after costs
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. hand — help
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. mark — a grade
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — for catching
  18. wake — a trail

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