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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spell — magic
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. present — a gift
  6. spell — a short time
  7. band — a music group
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spell — letters
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — thin
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. capital — a city
  24. lean — to rest against

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