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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. club — a group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. lean — thin
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — for golf
  21. staff — employees
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. prune — to trim

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