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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. file — a tool
  6. court — of a king
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lean — thin
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bound — certain
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of law
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — an amount
  21. court — for sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lean — to bend
  24. degree — from a university

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