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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ground — a position
  8. kick — in football
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. lean — to bend
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spring — of water
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rash — a series
  19. spring — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hand — help
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. lean — thin

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