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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. saw — the tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. march — the month
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lean — thin
  19. pit — a hole
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. racket — a loud noise

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