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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. net — for catching
  5. cap — a lid
  6. key — in music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. net — after costs
  9. cell — in biology
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — for a lock
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tube — a container
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — a match
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lean — thin
  24. net — in sport

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