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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to bend
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. file — a tool
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a document
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. lean — thin
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fork — in a road

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