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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 124 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bat — the animal
  5. root — of a word
  6. hand — help
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pound — a weight
  9. hand — in cards
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. root — the cause
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. arm — part of the body

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