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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: wave · rock · degree · craft · fall · row · land · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. rock — music
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. land — to come down
  7. craft — boats
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rock — a stone
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — to paddle
  15. land — a country
  16. row — a line
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — ground
  21. lean — thin
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fall — to drop

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