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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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rock — music
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. lean — thin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fall — to drop

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