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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. foot — a measure
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cell — in biology
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. shower — rain
  20. lean — thin
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pitcher — a jug

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