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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — of law
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bat — the animal
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — a series
  14. suit — to fit
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — size or range
  17. suit — clothes
  18. lean — thin
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. scale — in music
  21. court — of a king
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. scale — for weighing

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