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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. clip — a video
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. lean — thin
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cell — in biology
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — for paper
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. straw — dry grass

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