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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tube — a container
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. staff — employees
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. shower — rain
  16. lean — thin
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bear — the animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. staff — employees

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