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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. content — happy
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rash — a series
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. lean — thin
  20. squash — the sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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