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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. present — there
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — for light
  12. present — the time now
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hand — help
  16. rule — government
  17. bear — the animal
  18. present — a gift
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rule — a law
  21. lean — thin
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wind — moving air

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