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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pound — a weight
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. track — a song
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. last — final
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — to go on
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — finally
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. track — a path
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. lean — thin

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