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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stock — shares
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — letters
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — magic
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. spell — a short time
  16. perch — the fish
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — goods
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. ground — the earth
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fall — the season

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