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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fine — all right
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fine — high quality
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rock — to move gently

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