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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. shower — to wash
  4. board — to get on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — the amount
  7. fall — to drop
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — a box
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — to drop
  12. board — a committee
  13. lean — to bend
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. fall — the season
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chest — of your body
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. lean — thin

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