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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hand — in cards
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. lean — thin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mate — a partner

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