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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 ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lean — thin
  6. bear — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. snap — to click
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. net — in sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. net — after costs
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. net — for catching
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bear — the animal

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