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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mug — a cup
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mug — to rob
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mug — a face
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. clip — a video
  20. bulb — for light
  21. hand — help
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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