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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. lean — thin
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. date — the fruit
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kick — in football

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