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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. content — happy
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pop — to visit
  7. board — to get on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — thin
  15. content — the amount
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kick — in football
  19. bat — the animal
  20. board — a committee
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. fall — the season

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