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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. object — to protest
  3. scale — in music
  4. land — a country
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. content — the amount
  7. lean — thin
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. content — happy
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. object — a thing
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. last — finally
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. scale — size or range
  22. land — ground
  23. object — an aim
  24. lean — to bend

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