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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. march — the month
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bass — low music
  12. lean — to bend
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. march — music
  15. lean — thin
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — an illness

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