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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rest — what's left
  3. lean — to bend
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — a box
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. court — of law
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rest — a break
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. roll — a list
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — of a king
  21. chest — of your body
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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