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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. lean — to bend
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. present — the time now
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. kick — in football
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. lean — thin
  24. present — a gift

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