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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cap — a lid
  24. chair — a leader

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