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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. present — the time now
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. swing — music
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cap — a lid
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — child
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. toast — bread
  20. cap — of ice
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — to play on

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