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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: land · fall · last · bat · straw · charge · lean · saw

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — ground
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — the animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. charge — a price
  9. lean — to bend
  10. land — a country
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. land — to come down
  13. fall — the season
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. last — final
  17. charge — electricity
  18. charge — in control
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — the tool

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