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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. last — final
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. game — a match
  8. last — to go on
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. foot — a measure
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pop — music
  16. lean — thin
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pop — soda
  19. present — the time now
  20. lean — to bend
  21. present — a gift
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. present — there

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