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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — thin
  5. bass — the fish
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. spring — of water
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bass — low music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. scale — size or range
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — in music
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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