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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. board — a committee
  5. chest — a box
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tear — from crying
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. tear — to rip
  10. court — of law
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of a king
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. deal — to handle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. board — to get on

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