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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. game — a match
  4. rule — a law
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rule — government
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wind — moving air
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. lean — thin
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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