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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. lean — to bend
  4. tube — a container
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tube — the underground
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. lean — thin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. key — in music
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. key — for a lock
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. sharp — clever
  24. key — the most important part

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