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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bear — the animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. board — to get on
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bear — the animal
  16. drill — army training
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lean — thin
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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