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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bore — to tire
  8. file — a document
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lean — thin
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. present — the time now
  17. wound — an injury
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bore — to drill
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. file — a tool

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