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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. shower — rain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. saw — the tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — a tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — in music
  21. bound — certain
  22. key — the most important part
  23. lean — thin
  24. bound — obliged

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