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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wake — a trail
  3. land — a country
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. land — ground
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. roll — a cake
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. roll — a list
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — to come down

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