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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lean — thin
  7. bark — to shout
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fall — the season
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. file — a document
  19. scale — in music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. kick — in football
  22. clip — a video
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. file — a tool

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