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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. file — a tool
  3. content — happy
  4. lean — thin
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — a thing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a line of people
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. object — an aim
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bore — to drill
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cabinet — ministers

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