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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. object — a thing
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. object — an aim
  14. fine — all right
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. fine — high quality
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. object — to protest

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