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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. lean — thin
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. can — a tin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitch — completely
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. can — a tin
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. lean — to bend
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stem — a stem cell

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