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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tube — the underground
  3. object — to protest
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a dance
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. row — a line
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ball — a great time
  15. tube — a container
  16. lean — to bend
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. root — of a word
  19. object — a thing
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. object — an aim
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lean — thin
  24. row — a quarrel

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