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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. lean — thin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lean — to bend
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. foot — a measure
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. plane — a tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bound — certain
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bound — tied together
  20. cell — in biology
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. kick — in football
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. plane — an aircraft

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