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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. root — the cause
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. root — of a word
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of a king
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. court — of law
  16. cue — a hint
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — for sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cue — for pool

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