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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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Word bank
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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: sharp · tear · arm · land · scale · lean · leaves · drill

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. drill — the tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. drill — a practice
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — ground
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. drill — army training
  13. scale — size or range
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. lean — thin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. land — a country
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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