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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. vault — a safe
  5. game — wild animals
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to bend
  9. present — a gift
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — there
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — an amount
  15. present — the time now
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fall — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. lean — thin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — a match

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