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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 116 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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. firm — steady
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pound — a weight
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. firm — decided
  16. court — for sport
  17. lean — thin
  18. branch — a division
  19. court — of a king
  20. firm — a company
  21. court — of law
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — an illness
  24. branch — of a tree

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