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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mine — for digging
  3. firm — a company
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lean — thin
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a city
  9. land — ground
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to click
  13. land — to come down
  14. lean — to bend
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — money
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lie — to recline
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — to cut

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