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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · straw · mate · ground · land · trunk · lean · snap

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mate — a partner
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. ground — the earth
  13. land — ground
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. ground — a position
  18. mate — a friend
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. land — to come down
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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