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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bass — low music
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — of water
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fork — in a road

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