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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — of water
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fine — high quality
  5. can — to be able to
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. can — a tin
  10. spring — a coil
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. can — a tin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — the season
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. fine — all right

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