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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 drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bulb — for light
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rule — government
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rule — a law
  17. court — of law
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. court — for sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. swing — music

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