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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. staff — employees
  8. lean — thin
  9. lie — to recline
  10. rash — a series
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — ground
  14. staff — employees
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. drill — the tool
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — a practice
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. land — a country
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. drill — army training
  23. land — to come down
  24. rash — on the skin

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