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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 116 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 do anything ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. vault — a safe
  15. rash — a series
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hand — help

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