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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — for catching
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. spring — a coil
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bass — the fish
  11. net — after costs
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. spring — of water
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. lean — to bend
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bass — low music
  24. fall — the season

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