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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. mug — a face
  5. stem — to come from
  6. lean — thin
  7. pass — a permit
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mug — a cup
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. hand — in cards
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hand — help
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bat — the animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. capital — a city
  24. pound — a weight

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