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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — to play on
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. swing — music
  13. snap — to click
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lean — thin
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. foot — a measure
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lean — to bend
  21. spring — of water
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. swing — in golf

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