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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. land — a country
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. band — a ring
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — ground
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. lean — thin
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. snap — to click
  17. mate — to breed
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. lean — to bend
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mate — a partner
  24. band — a rubber band

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