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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. march — the month
  3. lean — to bend
  4. march — music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kid — child
  7. tube — a container
  8. stem — to come from
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bear — the animal
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — to tease
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. row — a line
  19. march — the month
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. leaves — to go away

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