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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lean — thin
  6. object — a thing
  7. pitch — completely
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. drill — army training
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. spring — the season
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — child
  18. object — an aim
  19. kid — to tease
  20. object — to protest
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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