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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: lean · wound · rule · jam · root · wind · plane · bat

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rule — government
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. root — the cause
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wind — moving air
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rule — a law
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — to turn a key

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