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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rock — music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spring — of water
  12. staff — employees
  13. pound — a weight
  14. prune — to trim
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spring — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. staff — employees
  19. snap — to click
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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