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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stem — to come from
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. content — happy
  7. vault — a safe
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — the amount
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lean — to bend
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — a weight
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pound — for dogs

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