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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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. wind — moving air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. snap — to click
  6. lean — thin
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bear — the animal
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bear — the animal
  15. court — for sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. track — a path
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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