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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · pound · wake · tear · present · mate

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mate — to breed
  8. present — a gift
  9. wake — a trail
  10. lean — thin
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. present — the time now
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pound — a weight
  16. present — there
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. 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