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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chest — of your body
  9. board — a committee
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — ground
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wind — moving air
  15. land — to come down
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chest — a box
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. lean — to bend
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fork — in a road

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