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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mark — a grade
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. suit — in cards
  7. lean — thin
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. suit — to fit
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. game — a match
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. lean — to bend
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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