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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. row — a line
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. lean — to bend
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. dip — to sink
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. row — to paddle
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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