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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cell — in biology
  4. present — there
  5. roll — a list
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. present — the time now
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tube — a container
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. present — a gift
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stand — to bear
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cell — a phone
  24. tear — from crying

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