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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. scale — in music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lean — thin
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. club — for dancing
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bark — to shout
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. scale — size or range
  22. club — for golf
  23. mine — for digging
  24. calf — a young animal

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