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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: bound · straw · rule · lean · face · plane · content · rest

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. content — happy
  3. bound — obliged
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. face — to confront
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bound — tied together
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. plane — a tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. rest — a break
  15. rule — a law
  16. bound — certain
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. face — to point toward
  24. 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