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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rock — music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. lean — thin
  7. tube — the underground
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lean — to bend
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. board — to get on
  16. rock — a stone
  17. board — a committee
  18. fall — to drop
  19. row — a line
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fall — the season
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. tube — a container

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