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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rock — a stone
  5. lean — to bend
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rock — music
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pit — in a race
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bear — to put up with

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