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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. march — music
  4. lean — to bend
  5. pit — a hole
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — a coil
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. net — after costs
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. net — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pit — in a race
  23. spring — of water
  24. trunk — of a tree

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