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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kid — child
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cell — in biology
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. rash — a series
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — in a road
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stem — to come from
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. kid — to tease
  24. lean — to bend

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