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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. last — final
  8. lean — to bend
  9. clip — a video
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fine — all right
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fine — high quality
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bound — certain
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lean — thin
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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