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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. plane — a tool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bat — the animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lean — thin
  21. sharp — clever
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — exactly

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