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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. band — a music group
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — a short time
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — letters
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fall — the season
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. date — the fruit
  19. spell — magic
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lean — to bend
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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