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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — to come down
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. lean — thin
  5. face — to point toward
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — a division
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — completely
  14. face — to confront
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. face — part of the head
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pitch — a sports field

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