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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. root — the cause
  5. swing — to play on
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fine — high quality
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — to wash
  13. swing — in golf
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. stand — to bear
  18. swing — music
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fine — all right
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. root — of a word
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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