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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 116 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: bear · scale · lean · staff · bore · clip · fall · ground

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. staff — a stick
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ground — crushed
  8. lean — thin
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — size or range
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. scale — in music
  19. ground — a position
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fall — the season
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bore — to drill

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