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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 120 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: cell · spring · snap · bay · lean · wind · suit · court

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. suit — in cards
  3. court — for sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. suit — to fit
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. spring — of water
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. lean — thin
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — the season
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — a coil
  22. court — of law
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. suit — clothes

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