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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. firm — decided
  8. pop — music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wake — a trail
  11. firm — steady
  12. capital — money
  13. pop — soda
  14. lean — thin
  15. firm — a company
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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