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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. squash — the sport
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chip — for betting
  6. spring — a coil
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. foot — a measure
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lean — to bend
  13. squash — to crush
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. lean — thin
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. calf — a young animal

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