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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lean — thin
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. game — a match
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bat — for baseball

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