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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. staff — employees
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fall — the season
  9. bat — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. staff — a stick
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rest — a break
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rest — what's left
  22. content — the amount
  23. staff — employees
  24. rest — what's left

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