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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. land — a country
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — letters
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. land — to come down
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rush — hurry
  15. land — ground
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. lean — to bend
  19. object — to protest
  20. spell — a short time
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. object — a thing
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — an aim

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