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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. lean — thin
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. root — of a word
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. root — of a plant
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. season — of the year
  22. hand — in cards
  23. season — in sport
  24. root — the cause

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