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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pass — a permit
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a music group
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lean — thin
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lean — to bend
  23. mark — a trace
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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