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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rule — government
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. saw — the tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lean — thin
  19. plane — a tool
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. branch — a division
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — a law

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