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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rule — a law
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. spring — the season
  6. rule — government
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. lean — thin
  15. content — the amount
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. hand — help
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spring — of water
  24. fan — a supporter

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