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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. net — after costs
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. mug — a face
  5. can — a tin
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — in sport
  8. lean — thin
  9. march — the month
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. roll — a cake
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. march — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. march — the month
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. can — a tin
  19. mug — a cup
  20. can — to be able to
  21. roll — a list
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mug — to rob
  24. nail — on a finger

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