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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. object — to protest
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. spell — a short time
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. saw — the tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spell — magic
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chest — a box
  11. object — an aim
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spell — letters
  14. deal — to handle
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. object — a thing
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. hand — help
  21. lean — to bend
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — dry grass
  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