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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a match
  6. mug — to rob
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — the amount
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. lean — thin
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mug — a face
  18. game — wild animals
  19. clip — a video
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. content — happy
  23. mug — a cup
  24. clip — for paper

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