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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. content — happy
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the fish
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lean — thin
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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