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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: bat · rest · game · last · suit · wound · lean · pop

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. suit — clothes
  5. pop — soda
  6. game — a match
  7. last — final
  8. lean — thin
  9. bat — the animal
  10. last — finally
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pop — music
  15. suit — in cards
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — to go on
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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