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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lean — to bend
  3. sharp — clever
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — soda
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. drill — the tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — thin
  11. spring — the season
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. drill — a practice
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pop — music
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bowl — a dish

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