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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lean — thin
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. track — a path
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bat — the animal
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. track — to keep track
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. scale — in music
  22. track — a song
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. lean — to rest against

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