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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chest — a box
  8. can — a tin
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. swing — to play on
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. swing — music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. can — to be able to
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — thin
  23. can — a tin
  24. swing — in golf

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