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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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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: trunk · object · ground · rush · clip · fan · fall · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rush — hurry
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. object — to protest
  7. lean — to bend
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lean — thin
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. ground — a position
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. trunk — of a car

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