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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lean — thin
  5. spell — magic
  6. cell — a phone
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cap — of ice
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. bear — the animal
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spell — letters
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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