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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. content — happy
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — in biology
  8. lean — to bend
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. lean — thin
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. prune — to trim
  20. content — the amount
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mine — for digging
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mine — belonging to me

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