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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. spring — of water
  3. wake — a trail
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — thin
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chest — a box
  13. lean — to bend
  14. squash — to crush
  15. spring — the season
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chest — of your body

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