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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lean — to bend
  3. squash — the sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. net — for catching
  8. tear — to rip
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fall — the season
  17. lean — thin
  18. net — after costs
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. can — to be able to
  21. fall — to drop
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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