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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. land — ground
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. last — finally
  16. drill — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — final
  19. land — to come down
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. land — a country
  22. fall — the season
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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