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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. hand — in cards
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. vault — a safe
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stand — to bear
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — wild animals
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rest — a break
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — of ice
  21. lean — thin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. game — a match
  24. wind — moving air

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