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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fall — the season
  13. row — a line
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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