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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. object — a thing
  4. club — a group
  5. face — to point toward
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — for golf
  9. face — to confront
  10. object — to protest
  11. row — a line
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. club — for dancing
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. object — an aim
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — the amount
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lean — to bend
  21. row — to paddle
  22. face — part of the head
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pitcher — a jug

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