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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — rain
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. toast — bread
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. root — of a word
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. tear — to rip
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rock — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. rock — a stone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — to cut
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. root — the cause
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — to wash

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