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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. lean — thin
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. rock — music
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — to rip
  13. staff — employees
  14. last — to go on
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. rock — a stone
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chip — for betting
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — final
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chip — to eat
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — a video

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