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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lean — thin
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. court — of law
  11. land — ground
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. court — of a king
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — of your body
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — a committee
  20. court — for sport
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. board — to get on

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