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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fine — all right
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fine — high quality
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lean — to bend
  9. scale — in music
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. clip — a video
  17. file — a line of people
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. file — a tool
  21. lean — thin
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. scale — size or range
  24. file — a document

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