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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. drill — army training
  8. fall — to drop
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. mug — a cup
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. land — ground
  14. wound — an injury
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. land — to come down
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — a country
  24. wind — to turn a key

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