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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. firm — steady
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — thin
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — of law
  9. game — a match
  10. pop — soda
  11. swing — to play on
  12. firm — a company
  13. ground — a position
  14. pop — music
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — music
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ground — crushed
  23. firm — decided
  24. game — wild animals

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