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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. sharp — clever
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — for paper
  6. snap — to click
  7. clip — a video
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. lean — thin
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stand — to bear
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. tube — a container

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