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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. current — happening now
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — a phone
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. current — of water
  18. clip — a video
  19. current — electric
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. lean — thin
  24. pit — a hole

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