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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lean — thin
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mug — to rob
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. lie — to recline
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fall — to drop
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a face
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bat — the animal
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. file — a tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mug — a cup
  23. file — a document
  24. capital — a city

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