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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lean — thin
  8. content — the amount
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — not warm
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. content — happy

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