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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. swing — to play on
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chest — a box
  5. swing — music
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chip — to eat
  9. can — to be able to
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. chip — for betting
  13. can — a tin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. can — a tin
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lean — thin

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