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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 116 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rash — a series
  3. mate — to breed
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. present — there
  9. key — the most important part
  10. present — the time now
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lean — to bend
  16. present — a gift
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — in music
  22. last — final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. key — for a lock

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