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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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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. lean — to bend
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — thin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bear — the animal
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — a box
  11. kid — child
  12. row — to paddle
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. row — a line
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. lash — an eyelash

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