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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lie — to recline
  6. root — of a word
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lean — thin
  9. season — in sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. root — of a plant
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bass — the fish
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. file — a document
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. season — of the year
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. root — the cause

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