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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. march — the month
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lean — to bend
  6. hand — help
  7. drill — army training
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lean — thin
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. tube — a container
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. march — music
  17. pound — a weight
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tube — the underground
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cap — a hat
  22. perch — the fish
  23. drill — a practice
  24. hand — in cards

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