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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. club — for golf
  3. cap — of ice
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cap — a lid
  11. club — for dancing
  12. date — the fruit
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. club — a group
  15. bear — the animal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. land — a country
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. land — ground
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. lean — to rest against

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