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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. object — to protest
  3. wake — a trail
  4. lean — thin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. object — a thing
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. cell — a phone
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fall — the season
  14. object — an aim
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. spell — letters
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. content — the amount

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