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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. clip — to cut
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a committee
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — a video
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. lean — thin
  24. row — a quarrel

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