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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. face — to point toward
  5. club — for dancing
  6. face — part of the head
  7. club — a group
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. club — for golf
  10. game — a match
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. face — to confront
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mate — to breed
  24. lean — thin

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