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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — rain
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. ground — the earth
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bark — to shout
  12. game — a match
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ground — a position
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — all right
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lean — to bend
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. swing — music
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lean — thin
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. calf — of the leg

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