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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cold — not warm
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. key — the most important part
  12. march — music
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wake — a trail
  16. key — in music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. lean — thin
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bark — to shout

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