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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitch — completely
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lean — to bend
  9. branch — a division
  10. lean — thin
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — a series
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tube — a container
  24. cold — not warm

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