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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — to wash
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. lean — to bend
  6. object — to protest
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. face — to point toward
  10. shower — rain
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. land — a country
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. band — a music group
  15. kick — in football
  16. fork — in a road
  17. land — to come down
  18. object — an aim
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. object — a thing
  22. land — ground
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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