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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 120 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. kid — child
  7. face — to point toward
  8. file — a tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. file — a document
  14. lean — thin
  15. face — to confront
  16. scale — in music
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mine — for digging

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