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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cold — not warm
  8. key — in music
  9. lean — thin
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — the cause
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. root — of a word
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wound — an injury

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