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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mug — a face
  5. tube — a container
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. game — a match
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lean — thin
  15. mug — a cup
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mug — to rob
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tube — in a tire

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