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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · track · object · lean · bat · wind · lie · march

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. object — a thing
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. track — to keep track
  11. content — happy
  12. track — a song
  13. object — an aim
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. track — a path
  20. lie — to recline
  21. object — to protest
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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