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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. drill — army training
  6. lean — thin
  7. lie — to recline
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. drill — the tool
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fall — to drop
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — for digging
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. deal — a big deal

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