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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. club — for golf
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rock — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. club — a group
  7. suit — clothes
  8. hand — help
  9. branch — a division
  10. rock — a stone
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. suit — to fit
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. club — for dancing
  19. lean — thin
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. suit — in cards
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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