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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — magic
  6. spring — the season
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. spell — letters
  10. rest — what's left
  11. shower — rain
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. shower — to wash
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spell — a short time
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rest — a break
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — of water
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. lean — to bend

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