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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. date — the fruit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. scale — in music
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ball — a dance
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — size or range
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. kick — in football
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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